Optionally make a new meld or add cards to a meld on the table.ĭiscard one card from your hand to the discard pile. Take the top two cards from the stock pile or take the discard pile (see below). These cards will count at the end of the round but not for melding. Each player, immediately before taking their first turn must place any red threes they hold face up on the table and draw an equal number of cards to replace them. The player to the left of the person who dealt the hands goes first, the play then continues clockwise around the table until someone goes out. You can make any number of melds to make this total but they must all be laid at once from your hand. If you had 4 Kings and 5 Queens that is 90 points and you could meld in the first or second round. The Joker is 50 points and the fours are 10 points for 60 points, you could meld if you only need 50 points. If you had a Joker and 2 fours you could make a dirty meld. If you had 3 Kings and 4 fives, the Kings are 10 points each and the fives are 5 points each totaling 50 points, you could meld for the first round. Sixes and fives are only worth 5 points each so that is only 35 points, not enough to meld. This is based on the chart below.Įxample: You have 3 sixes and 4 fives. This makes picking up the pile more dangerous as you might have a few and if someone goes out you can be caught with them)īefore you can meld for the first time in a round you must have a minimum amount of points in the meld. (Alternative Rule - Black threes may by played to be 100 points, the same as red threes. This can be handy if you are making one that going to be a Clean Canasta and one that is going to be a Dirty Canasta) (Alternative Rule - You can play that you can have more than one meld of a value going at once. (Alternative Rule - You can play that more than seven cards are allowed in a Canasta and cards can be added to completed Canastas of the same value, the restriction of not more wild cards than natural cards still apply.) Before you can go out you must meet the following conditions. The play ends when someone goes out and gets rid of all the cards in their hand and foot (see “picking up your foot” later in the rules) by melding or discarding them. You will score points for completed Canastas and lose points for cards left in your hand at the end of play. This makes it easier for counting at the end. If it is a Clean Canasta put a red card on top, if it is a Dirty Canasta place a black card on top and if it is a Wild Canasta place a Joker on top.
When a meld contains seven cards it is removed from the meld layout, squared into a pile and placed face up in front of the other partner. You may only have one Meld in play of any value at a time (example if you have a meld 5 sevens and your partner has 3 sevens in their hand they may not start a second meld of sevens till the first meld is completed, so they may add 2 sevens to finish the Canasta but will be left with the single seven in their hand or they can wait till the first meld is completed and then start a second.)Ī Dirty Canasta has at least one wild card in it.Ī Wild Canasta consists entirely of wild cards. Wild cards can also be placed in other melds as long as there is at least as many natural cards as wild cards in the meld at any time. You can make a meld of Wild Cards and in fact one is required to go out. Threes have special uses and cannot be melded. Melds can be made of any rank from A, K Q down to 4. Usually incomplete melds are placed face up in columns in front of one of the team members while the other member will collect the completed melds of seven cards, called Canastas. A meld cannot have fewer then three cards and no more than seven cards (see below for alternative rules on the number of cards allowed). A meld is a set of three to seven card of the same rank placed face up on the table. The aim of the game is to get rid of the cards in your hand by melding them. Players pick up their hand and play will begin with the player to the left of person who dealt the hands.Īfter the end of the round of play deal will pass to the left. The players foots are placed face down beside them and will not used until a player has played all the cards in his hand. If it is a Red Three or Wild Card it is buried and a new card is turned over. The top card is turned face up to make a discard pile beside the stock pile. The remainder of the undealt cards are placed face down in the center to form the stock. The other partner deals 4 piles of 13 cards that will be the players foots. Mix the cards and one partner deals 4 piles of 13 cards that will be the players hands. Five decks of cards are used, including Jokers.Ĭhoose which partnership will deal first.